Split connector for electrical conduits



June 16, 1942. J. CANNON ETAL 2,286,952

SPLIT CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUITS Filed July 29, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Ez //Vl/NTO ?5 CE +5 JAM5 H CANNON 6y Romserd CAN/vo/v kHAAw/s TOR/VEYJ.

June 16, 1942. J, H, CANNON ETAL 2,286,952

SPLIT CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUITS Filed July 29, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /Nz/NT0/?5 (/AMES H CANNON ROBERTM CANNON nectorhouses a .-quently insertedin the connector. sembly procedure requires excess length in the conductorsa'nd' necessitates crowding the con- Patented June 16, 1942 EUJNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE srm'r CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUITS. I

James H. Cannon and Robert J. Cannon, Los Angeles, Calii'.; said Robert J. Cannon 'assignor, to said James H. Cannon Application July 29, 1940, Serial No. 348,260

8 Claims.

Connector fittings are employed in various electrical installations in laboratories, moving picture studios, radio studios, public address systems, aircraft. circuits and the like to interconnect electric cords-and rigid or flexible conduits, or to connect such cords or conduits with fittings on machines,

instruments, panels, instrument boards, and walls. Usually these connectors enclose electrical fittings such as plugs or receptacles to which electrical conductors or fittings are attached. For example, when such a connector is employed to releasably connect a flexible conduit with 'a receptacle in a panel, the conplug complementary to the receptacle.

A conventional connector is so constructed that t in assembly the conductors 'or wires in the conduit must be connected to the associated plug fitting or receptacle fitting while the fitting is outside the connector, the fitting being subse- Such an asductors into loops when the fitting is inserted in the connector. For subsequent inspection, which may be frequent where the connector is employed in aircraft, it is necessary to remove the electrical fitting' from the connector to expose the connections of'the conductors with the fitting terminals.- and oi course after each inspection the excessively-long conductors are again crowded into the connector when the electrical fitting is replaced. v

the'structure'of the insulation in which the conductors arej encased. The conductors tend to crowd together, causing pressure that further damages the insulation and in addition favors short-circuits. Finally, the repeated bending of the conductors may. eventually cause fatigue i'ailurelof'the conductors themselves, especially j at thefsolder. points where applied heat may have crystaliized'the conductors.

Qne object of our invention is to provide a 'conduitconnector so constructed as to avoid the necessity of.providing excess length in G011- ductors when electrical plugs or receptacle fittings are to be mounted in the connector.

, A further object of our'invention is to provide a conductor connector that m'ay be opened conveniently for inspectionwithout the necessity of disturbing either the conductors in the connector or the fitting in the connector to which the conductors are attached. v

A still further object is to provide alongitudinally spl'it connector-that is normally of rigid, unitary construction, but may be opened laterally for convenient access to the interior of the cone nector whenever desired. One feature of our invention is that the exposure of all the wires necessary for testing circuits may be accom-- plished entirely from one side of a panel.

It is common for the fitting in a connector to be polarizedwith respectto the complementary fitting that is releasably engaged by theconduit fitting. In other words, the two fittings may be mechanically arranged to cooperate at only one nector is in service.

rotary position of one fitting relative to the other,

so that the same plug elements of one fitting always contact with the same receptacle elements of the other fitting. Since the electrical fitting in the conduit connector is usually non-rotatably mounted in the conduit connector, the polarization of the fittings limits the connector to some predetermined rotary position when the con- Quite frequently the predetermined rotary position of the connector is unsuitable for a particular installation, or it becomes desirable for some reason to change the rotary position of the connector after the connectorhas been in service for a period of time. For example, an angular fitting of the type commonly used where a cable is disposed at an angle to a line of plug-insertion is usually designed for some given angle of the cable relative to the polarity of the plug insertion, but frequently the given angle is not feasible because of limited space or some obstruction at the given angle. A

I further object of our invention is to design a conduit connector that is adjustable through a plurality of rotary positions relative to the associated electrical fitting. Such adjustability in a connector makes it possible to manufacture and stock a single fitting for a number of different installation requirements and makes a given fitting flexible in the sense that the fitting may be readily adapted to various installation requirements.

In conventional connectors of the types heretofore employed, considerable labor is involved in the replacement of important parts of the structure and usually rcsol'dering of wires to contacts 2 one object of the presentinvencated' b is necessary.

receive a complementary pin lathat is mounted in the cylindrical: body ii. If it is desirable to 'tion is to simplify such replacement and to eliminatc the necessity of disturbing soldered joints.

r In one practice of our invention we have the further object or providing av split connector that rubber covered cord.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from: the followingdetailed de scription, drawings.

is especially adapted for use on the end. of a considered with the accompanying attach the connector in apositive but releasable manner to the cylindrical body 18; a common practice infl aircraft construction: the connector will be provided- "with a gland nut adapted to screw onto the cylindrical body' -1'8. In. the

In the drawings which areto be taken asiill us- I trative only:

Fig. 1 is a view in longitudinal section of the preferred form of our connector;

Fi 2 is a transverse sectiontaken-as indicate i by the line 2--2 of Fig. e

Fig. 3' is a transverse section taken as indicated by the line 3-9-3 ofFig.: l'

Fig.--4 is afr'agmentary section taken. as'indicated by theliine j--,4]ot1='ig.. 3; j

-Fig.. .5 is ,a; transverse section taken as indicated bycthe line of-Fis I 1 Eis.-.aperspective view'fpartly brokenaway tially di'sm antledgior inspection;

Fig. 7 is a side elevationjof an'anguiar form of our connector; V; v a

Fig. 8 is-a section taken as indic'atedby the arrow '8 in Fig; 7,;with variousoptional disposi-- tions of; the connector shown in dash-dot lines; 1' Fig. 9 -is a side elevation partly in section of a cableconnector constructed in accord with our invention; l

Fig. mai s, a transverse section taliennas. inch 1 is-a transverse section taken as indith-e line;. lfl'-tl OffFigQQ-j and, I Fig..l12: is ajperspective view of a: deformable wedge'cmployedin=,the structure shown in Fig. 9. Y embodiment of our' invention shown in ,"Eigs. luanci d is -a strai-g'ht cjonnectora'dapted to releasabiy connect a flexibleconduitlfl to a fl panelll conductors 12? from the flexibleconduit "W are connected in the: connector to threegfemalecontacts-I3 of. an electrical'receptacle 1 5, the electrical receptacle I! being adapted to receive three prongs l6 of a ,com- "plementaryl plugrflttin'g t1... The-plug fitting IT is mounted in a. cylindrical body [8' having a flangerlfi; The cylindrical bodyfits into:an"aper-"* ture'20 inftheqpanel II and is attached to the j panel by suitable screws 2| through thexflange (I79.

The present invention includesan inner cylinder 22 th'aitlis a unitary part of the-"electrical receptacle l'ij, the inner cylinder housing an in-- sulating' body'23 in which. the contacts I3 are embedded. The insulating body 23,. which may. be-made: of a; suitable synthetic plastic is EH-- "iarged to engage an: inner annular shoulder 22a "of' the inner cylinder .22. and isbacked by. a

rigid insulating disc 24' through which the contacts I3 extend. The disc .24 isintu'rn secured by a split ring: 25 that seats in a-complementa'ry' annular recess 16 of. the inner cylinder. It will be noted that the material of thebody 23 overhangs" the ends of the contacts I} to prevent relative movement forward of the contacts and that rearward shoulders 21 of the contacts abut the disc 24.

The innercylinder 22 telescopes into the cy- 2'5' showing.theiprefernedform of the in .ention parpreferred construction such agglfand nut is mounted on the inner cylinder 22. Thus, the inner cylinder may have a continuous peripheral shoulder 3] for engagement by an inner annular flange 32- of the gland nut '30 that rotatably embraces the inner' cylinder,

" The connector-of. our invention includes a shell 35 thatcons'titut'esthebody of the connector, and a feature, oi .ourinvention is that this shell is longi'tudinallyssplit into two separate sections 36.

Preferably-the. shell-is divided into the two sections on a diametric plane and preferably one of the ections has longitudinal lips 31 at the juncturesand thefother section-forms comple- .mentaryrecesses 38 to receivethe- 'lipsfsuch a construction resulting in the two sections interlocking in a rigid unitary manner when pressed together. i

Oneoffthe featuresofourinvention s the'concept that bysplitting the connector 'shell 35'into [separable longitudinal sections ttheshell I'n'ay' en-- gage the inner cylinder 22 in. areleasable manner; provided the shell and inner cylinder have cooperating shoulders arranged to 7 he engaged when the two shell sections'are assembledtcgether and'ito be disengaged when the: shell sections' are disassembled; As those: skilled in the art -well know such shoulders may fibeprovided by various; expedients such as: for ing 8 cesses, annular ribs'rsand annulaingrodVesn In our preferred construction ;we employ a plural- 'ity of lugs, in. cooperation with a plurality of complementary recesses wherebywe may not only interlock the shell. 35' and the innerjcylind'er 22 against relative axial movement, but-also I against relative rotation. As a furtherreflnementisrving-a useful purposeinthepreferired.formotour invention-, we arrange the lugs andrcooperating' recesses at equal circumferentialramming-win a.

symmetrical pattern about 'the:,axls::;.ot:the :irmer' cylinder; so that the inner cylinder an'd 'shell may be locked at". elected, positions v.of relative rot tion; JThe lugs-may -beteither on" the inner cylinder =22or'onthe' shell, 35

In accordance with these-conceptawe provide .in thepreferred form of our;-inventiona-circumrecesses in the, preferred forrn -of tBy making the lugs taper d l'indricaibody 18 of. the receptacleiS and for polarization the inner cylinder 22 may be formed with .a longitudinal recess-.28 in its periphery to (5 ,by simple lateral movement I cylinder:- For assembly the inner fiangeM/of t feren'tial series of equally; spaced lugs: on-the inner cylinder 22 andacomple ntaryiseriesioi recesses 41 inthe corresponding jnneri surface ofjthe shell 35, there being six snch--lngs and our; invention;- A be a plesmyramidal'in general c'on figur, drl'flfikiHSiflYfi lugs relatively small We ach I ;a construct-terrain which the shell sections- 35 may be readily enand disengaged wer theinner convenience in manufacture fend gaged with the inner cylinder '22 si i td' nut m yb r reed r s may to increase the diameter of the" whole" assembly L r 2,286,952 including the plug fitting ii on the panel I l. The

conception or employing the'notches '42 is of special importance for installations where fittings must not exceed specified diameters.

It is apparent that the construction described to this point provides for the shell sections to interlock when'pressed together and when so interlocked to effectively engage the inner cylinder 22, and that after the parts are soassembled; full access to the interior of the, shell may be had simply by lifting one of the shell sections away from the other. To complete this particular combination it is necessary, to add some suitable :means to clamp the two shell sections together.

Inthe'practice of our invention various clamping 'expedients may be employed, but the arrangewill be found es'pe ment shown in the drawings cially advantageous.

The depicted clamping means includes a'conical shoulder 43 and adjacent threads 45 formed in the shell 35, which are ad'apted'to cooperate with a complementary clamping ring or'hu't' 4 6, The clamping ring 45 is preferably knurled for convenience in manual manipulation and has a conical clamping surface 41 atone end complementary to'the conical shoulder 43 whereby the ring when screwed onto the threads 45 against the conical shoulder 43 has the required constrictive effect to hold the two shell'sections together.

In the particular arrangement shown in the drawings 'thedescribed clamping combination is at .the end of .the shell 35 .that embraces the insuch a connector may be relied upon, to clampthe other ends of the shell sections 35 together. Thus, Fig. lshowsa conventional gland nut 48 at the end of the flexible conduit in screwed onto threads 5|]v atthe end of the shell 35. It is to "be noted that the threads" that,cooperate. with the clamping ring 46-are relatively large in I except that'the shell 35a is in the form of an elbow.

1t isin this embodiment'of our invention that the rotativeadiustment of the shell relative to'the inner'cylinder is especially advantageous, since the connector may be turned to any one of six rotative positions relative to the polarization of the fitting in theconnector. Fig. 8 in full lines shows the shell in one disposition and shows in dot-dash lines five other dispositions to which the shell may be turned. 7 v g Another" type of connector employed in'one practice of our invention is illustrated in Figs. 9 to 12. This connector generally designated 60 is shown connecting'a three-conductor rubber ll on the panel II.

cord 6| to the previously described plug fitting The connector 60 has an inner cylinder 62 exactly like the inner cylinder 22 ofthe first described form ofour invention, the =inner cylinder@62 having a shoulder means in "the formjo'f. a series of spaced peripheral lugs 63 andhaving'Kan annular peripheral-shoulder 65.

A gland nutii corresponding to the previously mentioned gland nut 30 has-"the usual notches to clear the lugs 83 and is adapted to abut the peripheralfshoulder to hold the connector on the plu'g'fitting l1.

*The contents of the inner cylinder 52 are identical with the contents'of the previously described inner cylinder 22, including three female contacts 61 in an insulating body 68 together with a'disc I and a split ring 'Il to'hold the insulating body in the inner c'ylinderf 'Three wires .ne'r cylinder}; but the clamping combination maybe placed at a more central position on the shell, if desired. We prefer the end position 1 because it places the clamping action close to Y "the lugs 40 and because the usual threaded coupling means that is necessarily employed with 12 from the rubber cord are soldered respectively to the three contacts 61. g I g g The connector 60 has a connector shell generally designated that is in the form of an elbow and is splitinto two separable sections 16 having the usual interlocking ribs and recesses along their junctures. The shell15 is similar to diameter so that the clamping ring may engage a I the threads but belarge enough in diameter to clear the threads at the end of the shell. If the gland nut 48 is unscrewed from the shell 35 and retracted onto the flexible conduit I0. and

if in addition 'the'clamping ring 46 .is unscrewed from the threads 45 and moved past the threads 50 onto the flexible conduit, either-or both off" the shell sections 36 may be lifted away to expose the'interior of the connector. See Fig. 6 showing the gland nut 48 retracted, the clamping ring also retracted, and one shell section 36 removed from the connector. In any event, it is unnecessary to disturb the wires l.-2 or the fitting I5. It is apparentthat inspections of the interior of the connector may be made conveniently, rapidly, and without the usual detriment to the wiring. All the wires are accessible from one side of the panel l-l for makingjtests. It is further apparent that in the original assembly of the wiring to the electrical fitting 45 it is not necessary to provide any excess length in the'wires f2.

One important feature of the described conthe. previously described shell 35 of Fig. 1 in having a conical shoulder 11 and threads 18 for c0- operation with a clamping ring all identical with the previouslydescribed clamping ring 45. The shell I5 is unlike the shell 35, however, in having a single continuous recess or inner annular groove instead of the previously mentioned series of recesses 4|. It is important to note that the subfiguration and has inner serrations 86.

struction isthat variousparts. of the connector may be freely replaced without the. necessty of disturbing any soldered joints. Infact every part of the assembly except the disc 24 may be quickly replaced without any soldering operation.

Figs. 7 and 8 show a 90? connector that'is constructed precisely in the manner above described fistitution of the continuous recess :tor the series of spaced recesses results in complete freedom for rotational; adjustment of the shell 15 about the axis of the inner cylinder 62.

The end-of the shell 15 that receives .the rubber .cord BI' is formed with a conical mouth 82 and when the connector is in service a split ring generally designated 83 is seated in the conical mouth. The split ring .83 comprises two semi soft rubber wedge members 45, each of which, as indicated in Figs. 9.and 12, is of tapered con- A special gland nut 81 that isremovably threaded on the end of the shell15 has an inwardly directed annular flange 08 that is adapted. to overhang and abut an outer face 90 of the split ring 83.

In the procedure of installing the connector for service, the wires 12 of the rubber cord 6| are soldered to the contacts 61 and the two shell sections 16 are assembled and clamped together bythe clamping ring '80. wedge members '85 are' then placed in the conical mouth 82 of the shell to form the split ring 83 and the gland nut 81 is threaded onto the shell sufhciently to place the wedge members under considerable pressure. When. placed under pressure in the manner contemplated, the wedge members 85 grip the rubber cord GI in a The two two sections. to separate; and a constrictive manner and the serrations ll oi the wedge members engage the rubber cord in a man- 6| from contact with the metal of the gland nut 81. When the rubber cord is bent or allowed to hang at an angle from the end of the connector, the wedge members 85 keep the metal edges of the gland nut 81 from cutting or abrading the surface of the rubber cord.

The preferred forms of our invention described herein in specific detail for the purpose of disclosure and to illustrate the principles involved a will suggest to those skilled in the art various changes, modifications, and substitutions that do not depart from our underlying concept. We

, reserve the right to all such changes, modifications, and substitutions that properly come within the scope of our appended claims.

We claim a our invention: 1. A conduit fitting oi the character described, comprising: an inner cylindrical member; a shell member having one end embracing said cylindrical member, one of said members having a 1 'f plurality of circumierentially spaced recesses and the other of said members having a plurality of lugs complementary to said recesses to cooperate therewith for locking said members together against both axial and rotary relative. move- 1 ment, said shell being split into at-least two sections for release laterally from said cylindrical member, said lugs and recesses being equally spaced circumierentially whereby the two members may be engaged at various positions of relative'rotation; and a clamping ring releasably embracing said shell to hold said two sections together.

2 Aconduit fitting of the character described,

comprising: an inner cylindrical member having a peripheral shoulder and a plurality of peripheral lugs axially spaced from said shoulder; a shell having one end embracing said cylindrical member and having a plurality of recesses complemcntary to and in engagement with said lugs to lock said shell to said member, said shell being split into at least two separable sections for release laterally from said member, said shell having an inclined clamping shoulder and an external thread adjacent thereto; a clamping ring threaded onto said-external thread in releasable engagement with said clamping shoulder to hold said two sections together, said ring being axially movable from said thread to permit said gland nut'having an inward annular flange rotatably embracing said cylindrical member between said peripheral shoulder and said plurality of lugs.

3. A conduit fitting of the character described ior incorporation in a conduit system, said fitting being designed for temporary dismantlement to permit access to the interior of the conduit system without the necessity of disturbing adjacent parts of the system, said fitting comprising: an inner member; a shell embracing said inner member; laterally engageable interlocking meanscarried by said shell and said inner memv ment to permit access aaeaesa ment to permit access to the interior of the conduit system without the necessity of disturbing adjacent parts of the system, said fitting comprising: an inner member; a longitudinally split between said inner member and said shell.

5. A conduit fitting of the character described forincorporation in a conduit system, said fitting being designed for temporary dismantlement to permit access to the interior of the conduit system without the necessity of disturbing adjaleasably embracing said one end of said shell to 'hold said sections against said inner member and with a conduit.

6. A conduit fittin of'the character described for incorporation in a conduit system, said ,fitting being designed for temporary dismantleto the interior of the conduit system without the necessity of disturbing adjacent parts of the system, said fitting comprising: an inner cylindrical member; a shell at least two separable sections, one end of said shell embracing said cylindrical member;

laterally engageable interlocking means carried by said shell and said cylindrical member, said end of said shell being provided with inclined clamping shoulders on said sections and having an external thread adjacent said clamping shoulders; a clamping ring threaded onto said external thread on said ring to engage said shoulders to hold said sections together and hold said interlocking means in engagement, said ring being axially movable from said thread past the opposite end of said shell to permit the two sections to separate; and a second ring embracing said opposite end of said shell.

l. A conduit fitting of the character described for incorporation in a conduit system, said fitting being designed for temporary dismantlement to permit access to the interior of the conduit system without the necessity of disturbing adjacent parts of the system, said fitting comprising: an inner member having a peripheral shoulder intermediate its ends; a gland nut rotatably embracing said cylindrical member and having an inwardly extending portion engaging said shoulder; a shell having one end embracing said cylindrical member adjacent said gland nut; interlocking means carried by said shell and said cylindrical member, said interlocking means including a portion extending outwardly from said inner member, said inwardly extending portion of said gland nut being positioned between said shoulder and said projecting portion to retain said inner member and gland nut in assembled relation when saidfitting is otherwise disassembled, said shell being split into at least two sections for lateral release from said inner member; and a clamping ring releasably embracing said shell to hold said sections together.

8. A conduit fitting of the character described for incorporation in a conduit system, said fitting being designed for temporary dismantlement to permit access to the interior of the conduit system without the necessity of disturbing adjacent parts of the system, said fitting comprising: an inner cylindrical member having a peripheral shoulder means; a gland nut for releasably attachin said cylindrical member to a complementary fitting, said gland nut having an inner shoulder means engaging said peripheral shoulder means; a shell having one end embracing said cylindrical member; interlocking means between said shell and said inner member, including at least one projection extending laterally outward from said inner member, said inner shoulder on said gland nut being notched to clear said projection, said shell being split into at least two separable sections for lateral release from said inner member; and means for releasably holding said two sections together.

JAMES H. CANNON.

ROBERT J. CANNON. 

